UBS Picks the Top 25 Stocks

One of the world’s biggest wealth management companies has updated its list of top U.S. stocks and picked 25 stocks that it thinks are good bets.

Business Insider

UBS Wealth Management’s U.S. Top 25 Stock List favors cyclical stocks that are more sensitive to the economy. And has the entire top 25.

"Cyclical stocks are trading at their lowest P/E valuation relative to defensive stocks in over 18 years," BI quoted UBS.

A lot of these companies are going to be benefitting from exposure to emerging markets, while others are simply doing well because demand is increasing as the economy is expected to turn around.

Here are the stocks from the top 25 that have the best expected earnings-per-share growth for 2013, according to UBS estimates.

10. (tied) Comcast

Ticker: CMCSA

Current stock price: $34.79

Sector: Consumer discretionary

2012 earnings-per-share growth: 20%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 16%

Comcast should return capital to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, since cash flow is strong and investment needs are low.

Google

Ticker: GOOG

Sector: Technology

Current stock price: $642.08

2012 earnings-per-share growth: 18%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 16%

Online advertising revenue should grow, especially as advertisers jump from print to online more and more. Plus, it’s got that whole mobile computing thing going for it.

9. United Technologies

Ticker: UTX

Sector: Industrials

Current stock price: $76.94

2012 earnings-per-share growth: -3%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 19%

There is room for the commercial aerospace industry to grow in emerging markets, plus industrials in general should benefit as the global economy (hopefully) improves in the coming quarters.

7. (tied) Barrick Gold

Ticker: ABX

Sector: Materials

Current stock price: $32.67

2012 earnings-per-share growth: -8%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 20%

Gold prices are expected to rise and as the largest gold mining company in the world, Barrick should benefit.

Schlumberger

Ticker: SLB

Sector: Energy

Current stock price: $72.57

2012 earnings-per-share growth: 17%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 20%

Oil prices are increasing and demand will grow as supplies are absorbed.

5. (tied) Express Scripts

Ticker: ESRX

Sector: Health care

Current stock price: $57.20

2012 earnings-per-share growth: 19%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 24%

That dreaded patent cliff is here and as more drugs lose patents and become generic, Express Scripts will benefit. Plus, the merger with Medco will help.

Applied Materials

Ticker: AMAT

Sector: Technology

Current stock price: $11.14

2012 earnings-per-share growth: -38%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 24%

Right now the company is cheap, but expects share buybacks and dividends to increase this year.

4. Devon Energy

Ticker: DVN

Sector: Energy

Current stock price: $56.93

2012 earnings-per-share growth: -33%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 35%

Cheaper than peers, but still able to benefit from the same rising gas prices, Devon should really turnaround its poor EPS growth in 2012.

3. Cypress Semiconductor

Ticker: CY

Sector: Technology

Current stock price: $10.49

2012 earnings-per-share growth: -49%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 43%

Cypress will benefit from its touchscreen technology as demand for smartphones and tablets will continue to increase.

2. SanDisk

Ticker: SNDK

Sector: Technology

Current stock price: $41.91

2012 earnings-per-share growth: -63%

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 73%

As the advances are made in smartphones and tablets, the demand for SanDisk’s NAND flash technology should grow.

1. Calpine

Ticker: CPN

Sector: Utilities

Current stock price: $16.85

2012 earnings-per-share growth: Not meaningful

2013 earnings-per-share growth: 222%

With coal-fired power plants winding down, and increasing demand for power, Calpine is well-positioned to grow.

Read more:

15 Companies with (Expected) Quick Returns

UBS Top 25 Stocks — the entire list at Business Insider